January 5, 2012

As fans, we spend a lot of time trying to get into the minds of those that are in charge of the football program. We agonize over why Richt did this or why Bobo called that play or why we are playing a soft zone and only rushing four.

One thing I am not wondering about this morning? Greg McGarity's thoughts on what we need to fix in the off season. I agree with Blutarsky's point that no amount of fretting over philosophy will change who Mark Richt is, nor will the person making the decisions about Richt's future and use of that philosophy make a change directly because of it. McGarity doesn't think the problem is philosophy. He knows the problem is approach and preparation.

From McGarity:

McGarity also urged fans upset over the Bulldogs’ 33-30, triple-overtime loss to the Spartans in triple overtime to keep the defeat in perspective.

“Blair Walsh kicks a 42-yard field goal and we’re sitting here feeling great about ourselves,” McGarity said. “But would we have solved our running game problem? No. Would that have solved them being able to go on an 85-yard drive with no timeouts? No. So, I mean, the dynamics haven’t changed. It’s not going to matter diddly-squat when we start lifting weights in three weeks. If anything it’ll add more incentive for next year.”

I don't believe he thinks the issue is philosophy. I don't believe he thinks the issues are the individual running backs or individual blockers. I believe he thinks the issue is the ability of the coaches to put the players we have in a position to succeed, either by preparation, play calling or scheme (yes, I realize philosophy is reflected in at least two of those things; but I am talking about doing so successfully within the philosophy). At least two of those were suspect in three of the four losses. We saw the defense have issues with those things for first time in several games during the last two minutes of the game on Monday.

Greg McGarity said the right things to Coach Richt when he was hired. I believe he'll keep doing and saying the right things in the future. McGarity isn't telling Richt to be a different coach, to take more chances and be more Lesticles like. He is telling him that his program has to be able to do the things it takes to win games using the conservative game management approach, such as run the ball successfully and stop an opponent who has 85 yards to go with under two minutes to play.

7
comments:

Anonymous
said...

While I agree with McGarity on the issue of maintaining philosophy and utilizing that philosophy for obtaining wins, my issue is with the uselessness of craziness. Crazy being defined as doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different result. It is crazy to think that running the ball will eventually succeed when it has not. It is crazy to think that we can rely upon a defense to play almost the entire 2nd half and ensure a victory. These crazy issues are the problem.

Point fingers is not a waste of time when one can clearly identify the problem. If you can quantify a problem then it needs to be addressed. If you have the same what-if's occurring over and over again and you do not correct them then it is systemic craziness.

I am simply suggesting that we try something that we have not done while maintaining our philosophy. So much more could have been done to alleviate the stops while running the ball. Do we not know that passes to WR and off tackle runs will be a different kind of run while maintaining the philosophy. Well, at least not the Aristotelian "kind." These are the crazy things that have me wondering "what-if."

Finally, McGarity needs to start reading some blogs because there have been several people who congratulate MSU on their victory. I can agree if you can predict what UGA will do to hang on to a lead and stop it then congrats. That is why MSU is deserving of congratulations. But that does not mean there needs to be something fixed in the crazy department.

McGarity didn't take responsibility for scheduling the Boise game and that loss, shows me poor leadership. You don't take off LVille and replace it with a top 5 team in Boise coming off a 6-7 season. It was a mistake and McGarity cost us a loss there.

If it wasn't a mistake, then why isn't McGarity scheduling more top 5 teams for openers or early in the year?

It should've never come down to stopping an 85 yard drive in the last 2 minutes; how about grinding out ONE first down to run out the clock? Hell, the coaches should've had the wherewithal to know the D was getting tired because, quite frankly, the D carried the load the entire game. That's what happens when you don't have long sustained drives. The fact that Bobo ran 3 straight running plays shows absolutely no imagination and no sense of urgency. Just imagine how good the D could've been this year if the offense was on the field more? That's exactly what happened against LSU too. You can't beat good teams solely on Defense unless you have the depth to field two first team D's.

I would be just as pissed about Richt's decision on the first offensive possession in OT if we had made the FG. A horrible decision is a horrible decision, regardless of outcome. I knew it was horrible when I saw it.

Sometimes you luck out and get away with a horrible decision. Sometimes you don't.

It will be interesting to see what contract extensions look like. I thought the Boise game was scheduled for CMR to sink or swim and the payday to buyout contracts.

Naturally a coach that just won the East with wins on the your 4 biggest rivals will not be fired. So the Boise game may have backfired.

The new staff on defense has only served to show that if UGA hires top notch talent the improvement can be amazing. The offense survives on top level talent.

McGarity will keep the CMR recruiting rolling with saying the right things to promote stability but remember Fulmer was 1 year away from an SEC East division winning season when he was fired.

I don't see UGA finishing any less than 2nd in East next year given the schedule which is why I'm interested in contract extensions. I don't think CMR/CMB can win a BCSCG or a SECCG as long as Bama and LSU are at this level. I also fear that If UGA some how lucked into a SECCG win that the BCS CG would go down like the MSU/UCF/Boise games.

1 comment to Anon 2:44. We did get 1 first down on that drive when Marlon was interfered with on a throw. Remember they reviewed whether there was a catch d/t a great coaching job by MSU's coach and stopped the clock and restored some time. While I don't necessarily agree with the ensuing 3 plays I perceive field position and TRUST in his defense versus trust in Aaron Murray after 3 TO's is why Richt chose to run. Now, why did our defensive scheme change on the last drive? I counted at least 3 passes and I think 4 that we rushed only 3. That is where we are

Either way, I haven't drank the Koolaid with McGarity. I don't think he cares about the quality of the home game for the fans. It's about generating dollars thru non "home and home" scheduling. Let's see what happens on the contract extension. Aladawg